“You’ve got to be in it, to win it,” is a popular phrase when it comes to competitions and lotteries. “You’ve got to be in it, to change it” could be a valid adaptation when it comes to driving change and smoothing the path for innovation in mobility. A new taskforce is setting out to do this and Dronamics is among its members. The cargo drone airline has joined forces with 15 other European private mobility companies (a mix of influential unicorns and startups: Aura Aero, Bolt, Cabify, Carto, EVBOX, EV Connect, Fastned, Flix, Lilium, MaasGlobal, Nevomo, Otiv, Volocopter, Voi, Virta), to launch the EU Future Mobility Taskforce. The initiative was announced after a joint meeting with the European Commissioner for Transport, Adina Vălean.
The taskforce, brainchild of Bolt and Cabify, sets out to unite the EU’s mobility innovators (focused on cargo, air mobility, shared mobility, EV charging, maglev, rail, transport innovation and deep tech) and collaborate in providing information and guidance to EU policymakers for the next legislative mandate, thus accelerating efforts and ensuring continued European leadership in global transport innovation. First step is a comprehensive report on members’ requirements and recommendations, due for presentation to Commissioner Vălean this Spring. Mobility must be made more sustainable, affordable, and connected, yet its innovators often face outdated and fragmented regulation, a lack of enforcement, market entry barriers, or barriers to accessing finance and data accessibility.
Commissioner for Transport, Adina Vălean, announced: “Today [11JAN24], marked the launch of the EU Future Mobility Taskforce, where 16 CEOs and Founders from Europe’s top private mobility unicorns and startups joined forces. In a dynamic meeting, we delved into the needs of our transport innovators and explored ground-breaking initiatives like Drone Strategy 2.0 and future Hyperloop regulatory frameworks. The European Union is boosting financial support for transportation innovators and startups through Horizon Europe cluster 5 and EIT Urban Mobility. The European Innovation Council, with a EUR 10 billion budget, is calling on transport entrepreneurs to apply.”
Svilen Rangelov, Co-Founder and CEO, said: “As Europe’s cargo drone airline, we are delighted to be part of the EU Future Mobility Taskforce, working with fellow mobility innovators and unicorns. Middle-mile deliveries by cargo drones have a significant potential for the European as well as the global economy at large, enabling faster, cheaper, and green goods mobility, [and are] key to advancing the European Commission’s Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy.”
